The Blue Jackets have dropped two of their opening three games on the season, but despite the results, they are proud of the hockey they have played.
Columbus has faced three teams who came into the season as serious contenders for playoff spots, including the reigning Stanley Cup champions. The Blue Jackets battled in their previous game Tuesday against Florida, having chances to equalize late in the third to force OT before taking a 4-3 loss against the Panthers.
“This team won't quit,” head coach Dean Evason said postgame. “I know that for a fact, they won't let each other quit. That's what we've seen. That's what they've built in a short period. They push each other.”
His team is disappointed, of course, that they dropped those two games, but Evason wants to send a message to his players that if they play with the same style and intensity, the results will follow.
“We are playing winning hockey," Evason said. “We just didn't win tonight. But the way we're playing is winning hockey, and I don’t buy into, ‘You got to learn how to win,’ all that kind of stuff. We are playing winning hockey. We just have to continue that and wins will come our way.”
James van Riemsdyk, who scored his first goal as a Blue Jacket late in the third against Florida to cut the Panthers’ lead to one, echoed his coach’s thoughts on the team. The culture in Columbus has been clear under the new regime – keep fighting.
“We don't want to be a team that rolls over. We want to be a team that plays to the end. If you keep doing that, you'll keep growing as a team,” van Riemsdyk said. “Hopefully we'll be at the other end of that situation where we're trying to close out leads instead of chasing the game.”
Know The Foe: Buffalo Sabres
Head coach: Lindy Ruff (First season)
Team stats (2023-24): Goals per game: 2.98 (23rd) | Scoring defense: 2.96 (12th) | PP: 16.6 percent (29th) | PK: 79.8 percent (13th)
The narrative: The Sabres come into this season searching for their first playoff berth in 13 years, the longest drought in NHL history. Their rebuild is presumed to be over, however. Young stars like former first overall picks Rasmus Dahlin and Owen Power form the core of their blueline, while their forward group consists of highly talented players in their mid 20s. However, it has been a struggle for the Sabres to start this season, as they are 1-3-1 after last night's 6-5 OT loss at Pittsburgh.
Team leaders: Tage Thompson has been the player to watch for the Sabres in recent history, recording 218 points in the previous three campaigns. He posted 29-27-56 a season ago, while upstate New York native Alex Tuch (22-37-59) and Dahlin (20-39-59) tied for the team lead in scoring. Dahlin’s 20 goals tied for third in the NHL among defensemen. 22-year-old forwards also had solid seasons a year ago, as JJ Peterka posted a 28-22-50 line and Dylan Cozens had 18 goals among his 47 points. Tuch (2-4-6) leads the team in scoring so far, while Thompson has three goals.
The young goalie tandem of Devon Levi and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen has potential, with the two of them combining for a 37-30-6 record a season ago. Luukkonen started last night in Pittsburgh, so Levi (1-1-0, 2.57 GAA, .919 save percentage) likely gets the nod vs. the Blue Jackets.
What's new: There wasn’t a lot of turnover to the Sabres roster in the offseason, with the biggest move being a trade with Edmonton that saw them acquire center Ryan McLeod for 2022 first-round pick Matthew Savoie. The Sabres prioritized adding speed in the summer, bringing in depth forwards Beck Malenstyn, Nicolas Aube-Kubel and Sam Lafferty who can motor.
Trending: The teams played each other three times last season, with the Jackets coming away with a 1-1-1 record in the matchups, including a 9-4 victory Dec. 19 that featured a Kirill Marchenko natural hat trick.
Former CBJ: None
